Method and apparatus for the extraction of coke from vertical retorts



April 20 1926. A. MOD' DUCKHM 1,581,724

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRCTION 0F COKE FROM VERTICAL `RETORTSFiled Nov. v, 1924 2 sheets-sheet 1 `b u 53 N Apl20,1926. L58L724A.MD.DUCKHAM METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF COKE FROMVERTICAL RETORTS Filed Nov. 7, 1924 2 sheets-sheet 2 Snelweg Patentedpr. 420, 1926i.

UNITED VSTATES PATENr-oFFlc-E.

ARTHUR MODOUGALL DUCKHAM, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, .ASSIGNOR TO ISBELL-POBTERCOMPANY, 0F NEWARK, NEW"y JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METHOD AND APPARATUS ronrnn nXrRAorIoNor COKE Fnoivr VERTICAIQRETORTS.

Application filed November '7, 1924. Serial No. 748,365'.

To all whom it may concern: 'Y

Be it known that I, ARTHUR MoDoUGALL DUonHAM, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain`V and Ireland, residing at London,

England, have invented new and useful lm-V proveniente in MethodsApparatus for the Extraction of Coke from Vertical Retorts, of which thefollowing is aspeciflcation.

This invention relates to a method and v apparatus for ruiming coke fromvertical retorts, and has vfor its :object to provide a method andapparatus which will becontinuous and automatic in its operation andwithoutV subjecting the coke within the carbonizing retort and in theact of being withdrawn therefrom to undue oxidation and vbroken up intofine particles. i

The method of continuously extracting coke from the base of the columnof fuel in a vertical carbonizing retort has generally consisted ingoverning `the issue ofthe coke from the lower end of the retort bymeans of a moving device having a fixed position at the said end or at ashort distance below theend.l j a According to the present invention thegoverning device moves downwards, sorthat its distance from the lowerend of the reytort is increased, to a maximum. One advantage of thisimprovement is that the construction may be simplified as compared withknown constructions; another is that the breakage of thecoke isconsiderably reduced.

One method of operating consists in supporting the column `of fuel inthe retort on a bottom which is moved downwards at a suitable speeduntil a quantity of coke has issued from the retort, whereupon atemporary bottom forthe retort is provided until the coke has beenremoved from, or together with, the first-named bottom and the latter,or another like it, hasv been brought into position forrepeating theoperation.

Suitable apparatus comprises a fixed depending mouthpiece or extensionof the retort surrounded by a container, the bottom of which constitutesthe bottom of the Vretort thus extended. The container may be lowered inany suitable manner, for instance, it may be supported on a ram.Convenient ly, however, it is kept` in its highest position by means ofa counterweight or the like vwhich suffices to support the yweight ofthe f columnof coal in the retort. j j p The container may also form thenecessary seal for the bottom of the retort. `For instance the verticalwalls ofthe container are double so asy to hold water into which dips ametal curtainlfixed at the bottom of the retort.

The container is lowered suitable gear, and when it has come intoitslowest position it rests upon a wheeled trolley or the. like to beconveyed away with its charge of coke. Another similarfbut emptycontainer immediately takes the place of that just removed.

Obviously, there is a short interval during which the column of fuel inthe retort must be'supported until the empty container has been broughtinto position. For this purpose there may be a slideor slides adapted toenter the coke and extend across the bottom of the extended retort whenthe charged container has arrived at its lowest position. The slides arehorizontally moving forks operated by hand at the desired moment, orautomatically through mechanical gear or electrically when the chargedcontainer is in the appropriate lowered position.

In order to prevent the entrance of atymospheric air into the retort,steam jets are reference characters indicate the same parts in theseveral figures: Y

Figure l is a front elevation. Y Figure 2 is a side elevation of thegoverning device described above in general terms. Figures 3 and 4: areverticall sections in planes atright angles to each otherv through thedevice from whichthe governing` gear continuously lustrate theinvention, and in whichsimilar.

in gear with a worm /L on a shaft z'. There on the container c', the end.g2 oflever g at the top *andl adaptedV to. enter agwaterspace formedbetween an inner container .c4

and an outer container c. The latter is suspended by chainscz-which'wind on drums d rotatably and properly supported by saidframe-work B. The shaft of each drum carn ries at `one end a second drume'on which Winds a' chain' e attached to a counterweight f,`and at theother end a worm wheel `g is mounted free to rock on this shaft a leverlc' carrying a` pawlZ adapted to engage a wheel m free to turn on theshaft. A clutch n Sliding on the' shaft and adap-ted to make wheel mfast to the shaft, is connected by bell crank o with a rod p adapted tobe moved up and down by tappet levers g, g which extend into the pathofa bracket 7;

being pivoted to turn in upward direction only, as indicated by dottedlines. The lever c is continuously oscillated bya reciprocating rod sactuated by an electric motor M,

worm and eccentric E, asy will be readily understood. y

The mechanism operates as follows The column of material in the retortrests upon the bottom of container c. When the containers are in theirhighestV position, as shown in full lines, the' clutch n, is engaged'with wheel fm and-at each oscillation of the lever 7s the wheel g,shaft andv drums d are turned through a small angle by pawl Z and arethen prevented `from turning backwards by, a detent t pivoted at akfixed point Vof the frame-work B.

` This turning movement raises the weight f and lowers the containers,the speed of the descent of the latter being arranged to correspond withthe rate at which the material is to pass through the retort. When thetops of the containers are nearly level Vwith the mouth of the extensiona the bracket 7' strikes lever' Q and thus raises the rod p todisengageclutch n, whereupon the shaft z' is .free to turn independently of leverlc. -The material in the` retort is now retained by providing atemporary gate. at the mouth ofthe extension a by operating themechanism `presently to be described, and

the loweringrof the containers is continued by turning'shaft z' bymanipulating the chain lw which engages a sprocket wheel :v on theshaft.A y.The containers come to rest on the truck u.

The chainsL are now detached from the container a', the truck is movedforward toj bring fresh containers v into position, the

tainers and the shaft i is rotated in reverse direction by vmeans ofchain w to bringthem into their highest position.. During this upwardmove1nent,bracket 1" passes end 'q2 of lever g without operating it butstrikes lever .g to lower rod p and engage clutch .fn and the downwardlmovementis re-started, the temporary gate at the mouth of the ex.tension a being removed, so that the material inthe retort may .rest onthe bottom of the inner containers.

The'gate mechanism (Figures 3 and 4) comprises a bar 1 carried at itsends in arms 2 which turn on pivots S-on the extension a. The pivotedends ofthese arms carry'toothed sectors 12 which are in gear withsimilar sectors carried by the ends of arms 4 similar 1) with a screwthreaded rod 9 which can kto Varms 2 and like these'carrying a vbar 5.

be raised and lowered b turning it in a screw l 'socket 11 by means of aiand wheelr10. In the position shown in Figure 3 the tines 6k are in"theirinnermost position and the gate is closed; by turning wheel 10 tolower rod 9 bar lis raised and the tines are withdrawn to open the gate.

' To prevent the entrance of atmospheric air into the bottom oftheretort, pipes-P, P supplying steam `jets to the lower or extend- -edportion Vof the retort are provided, said' steam jets producing1 aslight pressure above the outside atmosp eric pressure and prevents theingress of air into the retort during the period between the removal ofone full container and the placing in position of another emptycontainer.

WhatI claimis: 1. The method offoperating'and govern- "i'ngthe dischargeof 1a vertical retort .coke

oven in connection with a separate and transportable container, whichconsists in sealing the space between the lower section of the retortand thejcontainer, simultaneously gravitating the coke from the interiorand lower section of the retort into the container while maintaining thesealed relation between the retort and container and as the containergravitates, cutting oif the feed of coke intoA the co-ntainer at thebreaking of the seal between said retort and container, and removing thecharged container from the end of said retort.

' 2. The combination With a vertical coke retort having an open bottom,of a separate and transportable container having an imperforatebottomand its sides adapted to surround the bottom section of the verticalcontainer and its imperforate bottom placed in juxtaposition to the openbottoni of the retort, means at; the bottom of the retort for supportingand releasing a body ofv coke tort, and means tor raising said containertosurround the bottom of theretort to deposit the coke into thecontainer and lower. said container to remove the charged container withits coke from the bottom of the retort.

3fY The combination with a vertical coke retort having an open bottomand a ,curtain attached to a section above and separated from the lowerend of the retort to form an annular chamber closed at its upper end andopen at its lower end and surrounding the lower section o't' saidretort, a container having an impert'orate bottom and separated sidewalls forming a receptacle tor a sealing tluid adapted to receive andsurround said curtain and its impertorate bottom placed in juxtapositionto the open bottom of the retort, means at the lbottom ot the retort forsupporting and releasing a body of coke within and at the bottom sectionot the retort, and means tor raising said container tosurround thecurtain and bottom ot the retort to deposit the coke into the containerand lower said container to remove the chargedcontainer with itsl cokefrom the retort and curtain.

t. The combination with a vertical coke retort having an open bottom anda curtain attached to a section above and separated from the lower endot retort to form a cha1nber closed at its upper end and open at itslower end, ot a separate and transportable container having animperforate bottom and separated side walls adapted to surround Saidcurtain ot the vertical retort and its imperforate bottom placed injuxtaposition Vto the open bottom of the retort, means at the bottom otthe retort tor supporting and releasing a body ot coke within and at thebottom section of the retort, and meansv tor raising said container tosurround the curtain and bottom ot the retort to deposit the coke intothe container and lower said con-` tainer to remove the chargedcontainer with its coke trom the retort and curtain.

5. rlhe combination with a vertical colle retort having an extensionwith an open bottom, ot a separate and transportable container having animpertorate bottom and its sides adapted to surround the bottom sectionof the retort extension substantially the full depth of the containerand its impertorate bottom placed in juxtaposition to the open bottom otsaid extension, means at the bottom of the extension for supporting andreleasing a body ot coke within and at lthe bottom section of saidextension, and

means for raising said container' to surround the bottom of theextension to deposit the coke into the container and lower saidcontainer to remove the charged container with its coke from the bottomot' the extension.

6. The combination with a vertical coke retort having an extension withan open bottom, of a separate and transportable container having animpertorate bottom and its sides adapted to surround the bottom sectionot the vertical retort extension substantially the Vtull depth of thecontainer and its impertorate bottom' placed in juxtaposition to theopen bottom ot' said extension, means at the bottom ot the extension torsupporting and releasing a body ot coke within and at the bottom sectionot said extension, and means for periodically raising said container tosurround the bottom ot the extension to deposit the coke into thecontainer and automatically lower said container when said container hasreached the upper limit ot its travel to remove the charged containerwith its coke trom the bottom of the extension.

7. The combination with a vertical coke retort having an extension withan open bottom, ot a separate and transportable container havinganimpertorate bottom and a double w-all forming a pocket adapted toreceive therewithin the bottom section of the vertical reto-rt extensionsubstantially the full depth of the container and its imperorate bottomplaced in juxtaposition to the open bottom ot said extension, means atthe bottom of the extension tor supporting and releasing a body of cokewithin and at the bottom section ot said extension, and means torraising said container to Surround the bottom of the extension todeposit the coke into the container and lower said container to removethe charged container with its colte from the bottom ot the extension.

8. The combination with a vertical coke retort having a cylindricalhollow` extension with an open bottom, ot a separate and transportablecylindrical container having an impertorate bottom and a double wallforming an annular pocket adapted to receive therewithin the bottomsection of the vertical extension substantially the tull depth vot thecontainer and torni a Seal between retort having an extension with anopen bottom, of a separate and transportable container having animperforate bottom and its sides adapted to surround the bottom sectionof the vertical retort extension substantially the full depth ot thecontainer and its imperforate bottom placed in juxtaposition to tbe openbottom of the extension, means at `coke-from the bottom of theextensiomand the bottom of theextension for Supporting meansconstructed, arranged and adapted 10 and releasing' :t body of cokeWithin and at lto actuante lby the movement of the l conthe bottomsection of the extension, meanstainer the ineens for lowering thecontainer. for raising' said containeivto suiround the'k In testimonyywhereof I affix my Signabot-to'm of the extension to deposit the coketure.

into the Container and loweifysaid container to remove the chargedcontainer with its ARTHUR MGDOUGALL DUCKHAM.

